Source: HoYoverse
Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 is finally here, and with it comes the debut of the game’s latest 5-star character in Rappa!
With Firefly and Boothill being the Super Break DPS characters utilising Blast and single-target attacks, Rappa completes the trifecta by being the area-of-effect (AoE) Super Break DPS. Rappa also has innate Super Break like Firefly and abilities that reduce the Toughness of enemies regardless of their elemental weakness, making her a dynamic new addition to one of the strongest team archetypes in the game.
If you were lucky enough to have pulled Rappa, read on as we break down how to utilise her effectively as well as her best build, gear, and teammates.
Rappa wields the Imaginary element and follows the Path of Erudition, able to make short work of waves of enemies with her innate Super Break and Toughness ignore capabilities. She shines the brightest in Pure Fiction, as should be expected of any Erudition unit, though she can still work in Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow against Imaginary-weak enemies.
Rappa’s kit is centred around her ultimate, Nindō Supreme: Aishiteru, which lets her enter the ‘Sealform’ state, gain 1 extra turn, obtain 3 points of ‘Chroma Ink’, as well as increased Weakness Break Efficiency and Break Effect. This ultimate also has a unique mechanic that shifts the game to Rappa’s POV while she’s using it.
Rappa’s enhanced basic attack during her ultimate is a three-hit combo, with 1 point of Chroma Ink being consumed per hit. The first two hits are Blast-type attacks while the third hit is an AoE attack. Once all Chroma Ink points are consumed, the Sealform State ends.
Rappa’s ultimate is enhanced by her Talent, Ninja Tech: Endurance Gauge, by letting her gain 1 point of Charge – up to a maximum of 10 – whenever an enemy is Weakness Broken. It also lets the third hit of Rappa’s enhanced basic attack from her ultimate deal additional Break DMG and reduce the Toughness of enemies regardless of their elemental weakness. Each point of Charge then increases the Break DMG and Toughness reduction of that third hit, with all points of Charge being consumed at the end.
Rappa’s skill, Ninja Strike: Rooted Resolute, is a simple AoE attack that will primarily be used to regain energy to use her ultimate.
Meanwhile, Rappa’s major Traces boosts her offensive utility and also grants her the innate ability to use the Super Break mechanic.
Rappa’s A2 Trace, Ninjutsu Inscription: Sky High, lets her gain 1 additional point of Charge and 10 energy when an elite-level enemy or higher gets Weakness Broken. Her A4 Trace, Ninjutsu Inscription: Sea Echo, lets the enhanced basic attack from her ultimate deal 1 instance of Super Break DMG to enemies that are Weakness Broken. And her A6 Trace, Ninjutsu Inscription: Withered Leaf, increases the Break DMG received by enemies that are Weakness Broken by 2% + 1% for every 100 ATK Rappa has above 2,400 up to maximum increase of 8% for 2 turns.
Finally, using Rappa’s Technique, Ninja Dash: By Leaps and Bounds, in the overworld lets her enter the ‘Graffiti’ state and skate around for 20 seconds. When initiating combat while the Graffiti state is active, Rappa regenerates 10 energy while also dealing DMG and reducing the Toughness of all enemies regardless of their elemental weakness.
When levelling up Rappa’s abilities, prioritise her Talent first, her ultimate second, her basic attack first, and her skill last – though you’d want to max them all out eventually.
In battle, make sure to use Rappa’s Technique before initiating combat to regain some energy and start breaking enemy weaknesses to accumulate points of Charge. Once Rappa has enough energy and Charge points, use her ultimate to unleash her strongest attacks. Repeat this process until no enemies remain standing in your way.
Rappa’s best Light Cones
Rappa’s best Light Cone is, of course, her signature Ninjutsu Inscription: Dazzling Evilbreaker. This Light Cone passively gives her a ton of Break Effect as well as a lot of energy at the start of battle. In addition, it advances her next action forward whenever she uses the enhanced basic attacks from her ultimate.
Rappa’s best 5-star alternative Light Cone is Eternal Calculus, which is also her best free-to-play option as it can be acquired and superimposed for free through the Simulated Universe’s Herta Store. It gives her a lot of ATK and Speed for every enemy she hits with a single attack.
If you don’t have either of those 5-star Light Cones, then we recommend going for the 4-star Light Cones After the Charmony Fall and Make the World Clamor.
Rappa’s best Relics
Rappa has two main options when it comes to her choice of Cavern of Corrosion Relic sets, depending on what type of combat encounter you’ll be using her in.
The 4-piece Iron Cavalry Against the Scourge set is her best pick for most situations as it gives her bonus Break Effect while also letting her Break and Super Break DMG ignore enemy DEF. But for encounters with high enemy counts like Pure Fiction, consider going for the 4-piece Thief of Shooting Meteor set instead as the bonus energy it gives for every Weakness Broken enemy will maximise the amount of times Rappa can use her ultimate.
As for Rappa’s Planar Ornament Relic set, go for the 2-piece Talia: Kingdom of Banditry set as it will give her up to 36% extra Break Effect as long as she has at least 145 Speed.
The Relic main stats you should go for are ATK for the Body, Speed for the Feet, ATK% for the Planar Sphere, and Break Effect for the Link Rope. Substats to go for are Speed, ATK, and Break Effect.
Rappa’s best teammates
As a Super Break DPS, Rappa works best alongside Super Break support characters. The Harmony Trailblazer and Ruan Mei will occupy either one or two slots as the Harmony supports while either Lingsha or Gallagher will take on the sustain support slot.
You can also run Rappa in a Pure Fiction-focused lineup with either Jade, Himeko, or Herta as the team’s secondary DPS with Robin as the Harmony support. You can then slot either Lingsha or Gallagher in as the sustain support or go all-in on damage by going for Ruan Mei or the Harmony Trailblazer instead.
Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 was released on October 23 with a new 5-star character in Rappa, a new Trailblaze Continuance Mission that sees the Astral Express Crew return to Penacony, a new Simulated Universe game mode, and more. For more details on what's to come in version 2.6, check out our breakdown here.
If you're still torn on whether you should pull for Rappa or Imbibitor Lunae in the first half of version 2.6, or maybe even save for the second half, then check here and we'll help you decide.
And after Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 comes version 2.7 in December, which will feature the release of two highly-anticipated 5-star characters in Sunday and Tingyun's ‘Fugue’ form.